Invest News August 2017

QANTAS Dreamliners will be based in Brisbane

Brisbane is set to become Australia’s gateway to North America following the announcement that QANTAS will base half of their new ultra-long-range Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner fleet in Brisbane.

The decision potentially opens new direct routes from Brisbane to several major North American cities including Vancouver, Las Vegas and Chicago, and provides new opportunities for the Brisbane tourism and business sectors.

QANTAS also announced the Brisbane-based fleet will create 470 new jobs for the city, and follows the company’s recent decision to base the refurbishment of their Airbus A330s and installation of Wi-Fi on their A330s and B737s in Brisbane.

Along with the opening of Brisbane Airport’s second runway in 2020, the QANTAS deals reflect Brisbane’s continuing growth as a travel and destination hub for the Asia-Pacific region.

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Queensland to introduce Drone Strategy

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced Australia's first whole-of-government Drones Strategy during the inaugural World of Drones Conference in Brisbane this week.

Queensland has already harnessed the technology for use across the state in a myriad of applications including disaster relief, agriculture, film and even to monitor koala populations.

With around 25 per cent of Australia’s unmanned aerial aircraft operators basing themselves in Queensland, the government says this as an innovation opportunity for multiple industries.

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Cross River Rail construction underway

Work has begun on the hotly anticipated Cross-river rail link, with the $A5.4bn project to be funded by the Queensland Government.

The project promises to deliver hundreds of local jobs through the implementation of the ‘Buy Queensland’ procurement policy. Already more than 500 engineering representatives attended a briefing conducted by Cross River Rail Delivery Authority concerning the first project milestone, Woolloongabba station.

Cross River Rail is due for completion in 2024 and will comprise a 10.2km line with five new stations. The line will run under the Brisbane River and city centre and interchange with existing infrastructure including Boggo Road and Roma Street station.

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Grid of super-fast electric car chargers set to open in Queensland

With a full charge traditionally taking around six hours, new super-chargers that can charge in 20-30 minutes will allow for greater penetration of electric cars in Queensland.

Noosa will be the first location to receive the charger, with a network to be installed along the Queensland coast over the next 3-5 years by Tritium, a Brisbane-based electrical engineering company.

With 179 electric cars and 14,436 electric-petrol hybrid vehicles registered in Queensland, the network will provide car owners greater freedom to explore the region with confidence.

It’s become an often-uttered phrase that businesses have to fail fast, fail cheap and learn from those failings, and similarly it is no longer an option to take a wait-and-see approach to prototyping your technology or product.

Brisbane should be proud of its manufacturing industry history. It's long been a way of growing value in the city, and there’s quite a number of small and large companies who are keen to create new, innovative, world-leading products here.

It’s become an often-uttered phrase that businesses have to fail fast, fail cheap and learn from those failings, and similarly it is no longer an option to take a wait-and-see approach to prototyping your technology or product.

Brisbane should be proud of its manufacturing industry history. It's long been a way of growing value in the city, and there’s quite a number of small and large companies who are keen to create new, innovative, world-leading products here.

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Brisbane, Australia, is a thriving multicultural city and successful host of the 2014 G20 Leaders Summit. A global hub in scientific innovation, mining and resources, technology, education, meetings and incentives and cultural attractions, Brisbane is committed to strengthening international trade and commerce.